XDA News Articles

As we have mentioned in the past, the need for our devices to be up-to-date is no longer a luxury or even a necessity, it is an addiction. Because of this, whenever something like this happens, everyone's eyes shift focus to developers who work on AOSP-based ROMs. People become static, glued to their PCs with sweating palms and foreheads, and with a few extra keyboards due to potential F5 key breakage. All of the sudden, a new thread emerges with...

The Acer Iconia A500 has been around for a while, and has gathered a loyal following, with several custom ROMs available for the device. However, if you're flashing ROMs and mods in a custom recovery, there can be issues if you aren't careful. One such issue is the possibility of losing recovery while attempting to reflash it from recovery itself. If you have run into this issue and don't know how to recover the lost recovery, fret not. XDA Forum...

Today on XDA Developer TV, our good buddy Jordan, talks about Jelly Bean. Jordan covers news on Android version 4.1. Also covered is news from the XDA Portal regarding Google's latest operating system. There is so much Jelly Bean news this week that it feels like a candy shop. More specifically, Jordan covers the Jelly Bean Source Code release to the Android Open Source Project, AOSP, and Android 4.1.1 rolling out to the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus. The article...

When users typically talk about the first device to get an AOSP source-built port, they're usually talking about a Nexus device. It doesn't always have to be that way, though, as there are talented developers on a great number of devices here on XDA. To see an AOSP Jelly Bean ROM for the Acer Iconia A500 mere hours after Jelly Bean source was released is quite impressive. How was it done? Well, we're not saying it was aliens but... With...

When a developer here on XDA is credited as having helped with not just one, but two Jelly Bean ports for the hottest devices on the market, people start to notice. XDA Senior Member randomblame has not only succeeded in doing that, but also in making his own port for the Acer Iconia A500, leading it to claiming the title of first non-Nexus tablet to have Jelly Bean. Already on it's second version (damn he's fast), the only things not...

With users becoming more and more comfortable with the Iconia A500 root and bootloader unlocking processes, it was only a matter of time before development hit a new level and things really started taking off. This is now the case with the Acer Iconia A500, which recently received ICS and a bootloader unlock. And today, this comes in the form of a patched ICS bootloader and support for dual booting. XDA Senior Member Skrilax_CZ contributes to the A500 community by releasing six...

While the official ClockworkMod recovery is still arguably the most popular recovery for the largest number of Android devices, its wide release nature prevents official releases from being as easily adaptable as other recoveries when new development happens on many devices. As such, it's up to the developers working on that device to get things rolling with custom recoveries when the old ones are incompatible. As has been the case with many devices being upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream...

With tablets getting bad raps for bad GPS reception, it's no surprise that developers and users alike are trying to find ways to fix them. For some, it requires hardware support, as many Asus Transformer Prime users have been getting USB dongles to help boost their GPS signals to acceptable levels. Thankfully, though, some tablet GPS problems are software related, and can actually be fixed without taking up any ports or a struggle from the manufacturer. This is the case...

As the number of Android devices that are getting official ICS updates continues to grow, the number of devices getting unofficial ICS is growing even faster. With AOSP ROMs making their way around at a healthy rate and leaks flooding the forums, users practically everywhere are getting their shot at some new firmware goodness. This time around, the Acer Iconia A500 receives its share. XDA Senior Member civato, along with the help of some other XDA members, has created a tutorial that will...

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: touch-based recoveries are the future. Aside from giving end users easier access to device firmware modification, they add a much needed element of polish to the Android hacking experience. While some may say that these upgrade recoveries take away from the feelings of thrill and excitement, I argue that they offer a more efficient interface and enable some truly unique new features not available in the recoveries of yesteryear. In a...

A negative side effect of flashing a new firmware is that there's always the possibility that you break root, re-lock your bootloader, and lose your custom recovery. Unfortunately, it often takes a considerable amount of time to get root for the new firmware, which means you could very well be stuck until you find a way to downgrade or a new root method is presented. XDA Senior Member jm77 wishes to fix with for Acer Iconia A500 owners with a comprehensive guide on...

You may remember last week when we reported that the Acer Iconia Tab A200 was receiving its first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich thanks to an over-the-air update. It was speculated then that the Iconia Tab A500 would be the next Acer device to get an update due to the similarities in hardware with the A200. XDA Senior Member vache, the same A500 owner that managed to boot the A200 update, has provided a leaked copy of the previously promised A500...

Acer Iconia Tab A200 owners have been reporting OTA updates this week bringing the device up to date with Android 4.0.3. The Iconia A500's younger brother shipped with Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) and an impressive spec list, including a 10.1 inch screen, a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, full size USB 2.0 port and a 2mp front-facing camera. The latest software version (Acer_AV041_A200_1.037.00_PA_CUS1) is noted to be different than the 1.019.00 leaked Ice Cream Sandwich update some users have already installed. The differences...

The Acer Iconia Tab A100 may have been superseded by the newer Acer Iconia A500, but thanks to the works of developers like crossix the aging tablet isn't on its last legs just yet. If you happen to own an Iconia Tab A100 and want to try this mod, it's highly recommended by crossix that you back up your original in case anything goes wrong, but otherwise the mod is pretty powerful and simple to use. It is a list...

Users of the Acer Iconia A500 tablet have had ClockworkMod Recovery for their flashing needs for awhile now and it has done quite well as expected for the famous and widely used recovery. However, more is always better and it's in that spirit that XDA Senior Member drillisdee has compiled Amon Ra Recovery for the Acer Tablet so its users could have a choice. The Recovery is packed with a lot of useful features including: Touch enabled UI Can use...

Every time a new device comes out, we tend to either want to get it or what is included with it. Since most of us are cash strapped and cannot spend $400 - $700 dollars per device each time one comes out, we are only left with the option of trying to get what we currently have to look and behave in the same way as the original thing. For this purpose, you normally will need dumps of systems such...

As you are probably aware, there are a few mods for a couple of tabs sporting Honeycomb that will allow you to attach a usb dongle for 3G capabilities on non 3G tabs. Well, it seems that XDA member nateleduc has decided that a tab with a tail does not look all that great. After taking his Acer Icons A500 apart, he found an empty space with mount screw holes and solder points in the mother board. Essentially, this is the...

As part of our regular Q&A session here on the XDA-Developers Portal, I'll be covering some questions and issues frequently seen here in the world of XDA. This week, we'll concentrate on everyone's favorite large-screened devices--Honeycomb-powered tablets! Q: Is it possible to turn the a500 display off when connecting to a TV using HDMI out? If you try to lock the device (hit the power button), it halts the device completely. There is not brightness option for "completely off," so that's...

Those who bought any of the first 3 Honeycomb powered tabs are likely happy with the launcher. However, for those truly addicted to their Android devices due to the ability of customizing it and its behavior, it gets boring after a while. Since there are now other players in the field (Samsung), a not-so-new UI has emerged: TouchWiz UI. However, it is only available for the Galaxy Tab as it is part of the rom. Well, if you have an Acer...

There are good and bad things about official updates for our devices. The good thing is that they come loaded with the latest OS versions (unless there are newer leaks), updated drivers, better apps, and many more things. The bad part is that more often than not, the updates come with patches for security holes that end up relocking our devices and thus we have to wait until someone can come up with a way to crack them again. It...

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